Amid Budget Shortfall, A Visionary Loses His SchoolThe enduring tension between Montessori school leaders and the parents who pay to support their programs erupted again in December. On Dec. 14, a district court judge granted an interim committee of parents a temporary restraining order to operate highly regarded InterCultura Montessori Foreign Language School in Oak Park, IL, following disputes that led founder Michael Rosanova to declare the school closed on Dec. 9. A court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 9, but Rosanova said lawyers are trying to negotiate a settlement. The dispute flows in part from Rosanova's vision of the school as a professional-led operation. The board of the nonprofit school, which was composed of Rosanova, a long-time friend of Rosanova and a relative, had intentionally excluded parents. Rosanova said the school had been struggling financially for two years since an official stole about $75,000. With 48 percent of the school's 110 students on scholarship, the financial situation was deteriorating. Rosanova said he had managed to keep the school afloat through a personal loan from his wife, Doris, a home equity loan and credit card debt. He said that debt totals approximately $70,000. In October, he sought contributions from a few of the school's wealthiest parents, who in turn wanted assurances about the financial operation of the program. "It was clear the current operations at the school were not being fiscally managed properly," Sharon Barner, a spokesperson for the parent group, said. "The parents proposed some things that had changes in the structure. It wasn't that they wanted to take control. But they needed some additional management control in there." She said the group asked for a change in the composition of the board. Rosanova rejected the request. "This is not a parent cooperative," he said. Rosanova said that parents had organized an effort to delay tuition payments. Barner denied that. As the financial situation worsened, Rosanova said his financial manager told him he had to act quickly or "face ruin." He announced a consolidation of early childhood and primary programs, closing the school's Cicero site and consolidating programs in Oak Park plus some teacher layoffs. He said he was developing a financial plan with a local bank and consultant. "Parents of children in the elementary program believed both transfer of children to a pre-k campus and changing of teachers were gong to adversely affect the educational quality, health and safety for our children," Barner said. She said Rosanova refused to meet with parents to discuss the issue. As staff and parents gathered to develop alternative strategies, Rosanova declared the school closed. Parents responded by forming the interim committee and asking teachers to return to work on the next day, a Friday. According to Barner, all teachers and almost all parents supported the decision. When parents took over the school, it reportedly had $600 in its bank account. Monthly overhead is estimated at $46,000. According to Barner, parents are still putting together the financial picture, but have renegotiated a lease to keep the Cicero site open. "The curriculum is just fine," Barner said. "This is a business operational issue." She said the board is working with Montessori consultant Jonathan Wolff. "Meanwhile," Rosanova wrote in an e-mail, "with no income, no health insurance, and the Committee refusing to assume payments on the credit card and home equity loans that we gave to the school, Doris and I are searching desperately for jobs. Having lived for many years from paycheck to paycheck, dedicating everything we've had to the school, we're in a really precarious position." |
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